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TESTIMONY 



ON 



SLAVERY. 



TESTIMONY 



SLAVERY 






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CIlURCfl ACTION ON SLAVERY 



On the 3lst of March, 1857, the following' paper 
was adopted hij the Sessio?i of the Presbyterian 
Church at Harlem : 

Whereas, The General Assembly of 1839 did 
" most solemnly refer to the lower judicatories the 
subject of slavery, leaving it to them to take such 
order thereon as in their judgment would be the 
most judicious, and adapted* to' remove the evil ;" 
and this injunction has never been recalled, but 
has been renewed and repeated, as appears in the 
records of the Assemblies of 1843, 184G, and 1850 : 

And whereas the General Assembly of 1818 did 
unanimously " consider the voluntary enslaving of 
one part of the human race by another, as a gross 
violation of the most precious and sacred rights of 
human nature, as utterly inconsistent with the law 
of God, which requires us to love our neighbor as 
ourselves, and as totally irreconcilable with the 
spirit and principles of the Gospel of Christ ;" and, 
after exhorting "those portions of our Church and 
country where the evil had been entailed upon 
them, to continue, and, if possible, increase their 
exertions to effect the total aholition of slavery," 



did declare, lliat " Tlie manifest violation or dis- 
rcjLrard of the injunction here given, in its true 
spirit and intention, ought to be considered as just 
ground for tlie discipline and censures of the 
( 'liurcli :*' 

And whereas the General Assembly of 1846 did 
declare that '• The system of slavery as it exists in 
these United States, viewed either in the laws of 
the several States which sanction it, or in actual 
operation and results in society, is intrinsically an 
unrighteous and oppressive system, and is opposed 
to the prescriptions of the law of God, to the spirit 
and precepts of the Gospel, and to the best interests 
of humanity ;•' and yet the representative of the 
Presbytery ot Hanover in Virginia, in the Assembly 
of IHoC), did, in a solemn address before that body, 
re([uirc the same to take notice that " He and the 
ministers whom he represented, consented to be 
recognized as slaveholders in the Christian Church, 
Mild as accepting that system of slavery :'' 

And whereas the General Assembly of 1850 did 
resolve, that " The holding of our fellow-men in the 
condition of slavery, except in tiiose cases where it 
is una\()idahh' by the laws of the State, the obliga- 
tions of ;^uardians]iij), or the demands of humanity, 
is an ollrncc in the proper import of that term as 
used in the JJook of Discipline :*' l)ut the rej)resen- 
tati\«' fi-oMi I he Prc^hylcry of \\ inchester in Wv- 
;,nnia, in the As>»'njl)ly of IH.')."), in .an ollicial report, 
piinl«(l in the Minutes of that body, did notify the 



Assembl}^ and all the churches*, that the exceptions 
stated ill that resolution were considered to cover 
at least the vast majority of cases, if not every 
case, of slaveholding in the land ; and in an address 
to their constituents, published after the adjourn- 
ment of the Assembly, united in by the body of 
representatives from the Southern States, the same 
thing was avowed in terms more unqualified and at 
greater length : 

Therefore, Resolved, That believing with the 
General Assembly, the system of slavery as it 
exists in the United vStates, to be intrinsically an 
unrighteous and oppressive system, opposed to 
the law of God, the spirit and precepts of the 
Gospel, and the best interests of humanity, we be- 
lieve that neither silence nor inaction ought to be 
maintained by the Assembly or the lower judica- 
tories, when whole bodies of ministers and churches 
avow themselves to be slaveholders, accepting that 
system of slavery. And believing, according to the 
true spirit and intention of the Assembly, that the 
holding of our fellow-men in the condition ot' 
slavery is an offence in the proper import of that 
term as used in the Book of Discipline, we consider 
that the manifest perversion of the exceptional 
language of the Assemldy. and the open and 
avowed commission in the churches of the olience 
thus defined, calls for language that none can mis- 
interpret, and for action iVoni which wronfr-doers 
within its jurisdiction c; in net escape. 



6 

J{is(tii'C(L TlKit we bclievo all men are created 
(•(lual, and that no man can, without guilt before 
God, volnntarily hold another as a slave, or with- 
out such guilt exact his labor without wages, or 
separate husband and wile, or parent and child, 
or sell his fellow-being as a slave. 

Reso/ved, That we feel it our duty to remember 
them that are in bonds as bound with them, and 
that we sympathize with our unhappy countrymen 
who are held in slavery under cruel laws — praying 
that the Lord would give them freedom and that 
their oppressors may be brought to I'epentance. 

Resolved, That we lament the spectacle exhibited 
in the last General Assembly, when a representa- 
tive of our own Presbj^tery arose in his place, and 
by elaborate argument endeavored to sustain those 
doctrines of slaveholders which are regarded by 
good men as most oiTcnsive and unchristian, and 
which are palpably contrary to the repeated and 
solemn declarations of the General Assemblies of 
our Church : and tliat in our opinion, that course 
of our representative has imposed on the Presby- 
tery at \\\\< time tlic most solemn obligation to 
adopt such iiicasuics as shall prove before the next 
Gen<'ial Ass< inbly lliat these churches are not, and 
will M(»l l)c. icsponsibic for the guilt of slavehold- 
iiig, or loi- the scnliments of those who defend it. 

Resfj/rrtl. Thai a c(>j)y of the Ibrc^^oing preand>le 
;ui(I i-c-olutioiis l)c -chl iij) to the J*res])ytery. 



THE ACTION OF PRESBYTERY, 



Minute on Slavery, adopted by the Fourth Pres- 
bytery OF New York, April 20, 1857. 

The Fourth Presbytery of New York, having 
received a memorial from the session of the Church 
at Harlem, on the subject of slavery in its relations 
to the Presbyterian Church — 

Resolved, That we record as our judgment on 
this subject : 

1st. That in the ditficult and responsible posi- 
tion in which our branch of the Church is placed 
by Divine Providence, in relation to the subject of 
slavery, we need to cultivate a spirit of brotherly 
love and forbearance, and to invoke earnestly the 
guidance of that wisdom from above, Avhich is first 
"pure, then peaceable, full of mercy and good 
fruits." 

2d. That as a Presbytery, wc protest against 
that interpretation of the action of the last General 
Assembly, held in the city of New York, wdiich 
represents us as receding from the anti-slavery 
position and testimony of the Church. 

3d. That though in unavoidable circumstances 
the external relation of slaveholding mav exist 



without involving the master in the sin and guilt 
of the system of slavery, yet, that a continuance 
of the relation can be justified only so far as the 
slaveholder also uses all just and Christian means 
for removing the evil from both Church and State. 
4th. That the system of slavery is neither to be 
viewed as an institution of natural or revealed 
religion, nor is it kindred to civil government, nor 
to the relation of husband and w^ife, nor to that of 
parents and children, nor yet is it merely a legal 
claim or right to service : but that, on the contrary, 
the system of slavery, so far as it gives to man the 
right of property in man, reducing the slave and 
his posterity to the condition of chattels, dependent 
on the will of the owner, so far as it annuls the 
rights of marriage, so far as it forbids the general 
and Christian education of the slave, and debars 
him from the reading of the word of God, is a 
system which is essentially opposed to the rights 
of man, to the welfare of the republic, to the clear 
position of our Church, and to the principles of the 
Christian religion. 



THE GENERAL ASSE,\1BLY 



The General AssexMbly of the Presbyterian Church, 
AT Cleveland, June 3d, 1857, adopted the follow- 
ing paper : 

The General Assembly, in view of the memo- 
rials before them and of the present relations of 
the Church to the subject of Shivery, feel called 
upon to make the following exposition of principle 
and duty : — 

The Presbyterian Church in these United States 
has, from the beginning, maintained an attitude of 
decided opposition to the institution of slavery. 

The Synod of New York and Philadelphia, in 
1787, two years before the organization of the 
General Assembly, declared that they did -highly 
approve of the general principles in favor of uni- 
versal liberty that prevail in America, and the 
interest which many of the States have taken in 
promoting the abolition of slavery ;*' and did " re- 
commend it to all their people, to use the most 
prudent measures, consistent witli tlic interest and 
state of civil society in the parts where they live, 
to procure eventually the final abolition of slavery 
in America." 



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In 1793, while the constitution of the Presbyte- 
rian Church was in process of formation and pub- 
lication, the action of the Synod, just referred to, 
was approved by the General Assembly and re- 
published by its order. 

The Assembly of 1815 declared, " that, although 
in some sections of our country, under certain cir" 
cumstances, the transfer of slaves may be unavoid- 
able, yet they consider the buying and selling of 
slaves by way of traffic, and all undue severity in 
the management of them, as inconsistent with the 
spirit of the Gospel. And they recommend it to 
the presbyteries and sessions under their care, to 
make use of all prudent measures to prevent such 
shameful and unrighteous conduct.*' 

The Assembly of 1815 "expressed their regret, 
that the slavery of the Africans and of their de- 
scendants still continues in so many places, and 
even among those within the pale of the Church ;" 
and called particular attention to the action of 
1795, with respect to the buying and selling of 
slaves. 

In 1818, the Assembly unanimously adopted a 
report on this subject, prepared by Dr. Green of 
Philadelphia, Dr. Baxter of Virginia, and Mr. 
Burgess of Ohio, of which the following is a part: 
" We consider the voluntary enslaving of one 
pai-t of the human race by another as a gross vio- 
lation of the most precious and sacred rights of 
human nature ; as utterly inconsistent with the 



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law of God, which requires us to love our neighbor 
as ourselves, and as totally irreconcilable with the 
spirit and principles of the Gospel of Christ, which 
enjoin, that ' all things whatsoever ye would that 
men should do to you, do even so to them.' Slavery 
creates a paradox in the moral system ; it exhibits 
rational, accountable, and immortal beings in such 
circumstances as scarcely to leave them the power 
of moral action. It exhibits them as dependent on 
the will of others, whether they shall receive reli- 
gious instruction ; whether they shall know and 
worship the true God; whether they shall enjoy 
the ordinances of the Gospel ; whether they shall 
perform the duties and cherish the endearments of 
husbands and wives, parents and children, neigh- 
bors and friends ; whether they shall preserve their 
chastity and purity, or regard the dictates of justice 
and humanity. Such are some of the consequences 
of slavery — consequences not imaginary, but which 
connect themselves with its very existence. The 
evils to which the slave is always exposed often 
take place in fact, and in their very worst degree 
and form; and where all of them do not take 
place — as we rejoice to say that in many instances, 
through the influence of the principles of humanity 
and religion on the minds of masters, they do not — 
still the slave is deprived of his natural right, de- 
graded as a human being, and exposed to the 
danger of passing into the hands of a master who 
may inflict upon him all the hardships and injuries 
which inhumanity and avarice may suggest. 



12 



" From this view of the consequences resulting 
from the practice, into which Christian people have 
most inconsistently fallen, of enslaving a portion of 
their hretliren of mankind — for God hath made of 
one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face 
of the earth — it is manifestly the duty of all Chris- 
tians who enjoy the light of the present day, when 
the inconsistency of slavery, both with the dictates 
of humanity and religion, has been demonstrated 
and is generally seen and acknowledged, to use 
their honest, earnest, and unwearied endeavors to 
correct the errors of former times, and as speedily 
as possible to efface this blot on our holy religion, 
and to obtain the complete abolition of slavery 
throughout Christendom, and if possible through- 
out the world." 

The Assembly also recommended " to all mem- 
bers of our religious denomination, not only to 
permit but to facilitate and encourage the instruc- 
tion of their slaves in the principles and duties of 
the Christian religion;" and added : " We enjoin 
it on all Church Sessions and Presbyteries, under 
the care of this Assembly, to discountenance, and 
as far as possible, to prevent, all cruelty of what- 
ever kind in the treatment of slaves ; especially 
the cruelty of separating husband and wife, parents 
and children, and that which consists in selling 
slaves, to those who will either themselves deprive 
these unhappy ])roplc of the blessings of the Gospel, 
or who will transport them to places where the 



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Gospel is not proclaimed, or where it is rorbidden 
to slaves to attend upon its institutions." 

The foregoing testimonials on the subject of 
slavery were universally acquiesced in by the 
Presbyterian Church up to the time of the division 
in 1838. 

In the year 1846, the General Assembly made a 
declaration on the subject, of which the following 
is the introductory paragraph : — 

" 1. The system of slavery, as it exists in these 
United States, viewed either in the laws of the 
several States which sanction it, or in its actual 
operation and results in society, is intrinsically an 
unrighteous and oppressive system, and is opposed 
to the prescriptions of the law of God, to the spirit 
and precepts of the Gospel, and to the ])est interests 
of humanity." 

In 1849, the Assem1)ly explicitly reallirmcd the 
sentiments expressed by the Assembles of 1815, 
1818, and 1840. 

In the year 1850 the General Assembly made the 
following declaration : — 

"We exceedingly deplore the workinjr of the 
whole system of slavery as it exists in our country, 
and is interwoven with the political institutions of 
the slaveholding States, as fraught with many and 
great evils to the civil, political, and moral interests 
of those regions where it exists. 

" The holding of our fellow-men in the condition 



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of slavery, except in those cases where it is un- 
avoidable, by the laws of the State, the obligations 
of guardianship, or the demands of humanity, is an 
oflence in the proper import of that term, as used 
in the Book of Discipline, chap. 1, sec. 3, and should 
be regarded and treated in the same manner as 
other offences." 

Occupying the position in relation to this subject 
which the framers of our Constitution held at the 
first, and which our Church has always held, it is 
with deep grief that we now discover, that a por- 
tion of the Church at the South has so far departed 
from the established doctrine of the Church in re- 
lation to slavery, as to maintain that " it is an 
ordinance of God," and that the system of slavery 
existing in these United States is Scriptural and 
right. Against this new doctrine we feel con- 
strained to bear our solemn testimony. It is at war 
with the whole spirit and tenor of the Gospel of 
love and good will, as well as abhorrent to the 
conscience of the Christian world. We can have 
no sympathy or fellowship with it ; and we exhort 
all our people to eschew it as serious and j^erni- 
cious error. 

We arc especially pained by the fact, that the 
Presbytery of J^exinglon, South, have given official 
notice to us, that a number of ministers and ruling 
oklers, as well as many church members, in their 
connection, hold slaves " from principle" and " of 
choice," ''believing it to be according to the Bible 



Ifj 



right," and have, without any qualilyin^^ explana- 
tion, assumed the responsibility of sustaining such 
ministers, elders, and church members, in their 
position. We deem it our duty, in the exercise of 
our constitutional authority " to bear testimony 
against error in doctrine,- or immorality in prac- 
tice, in any Church, Presbytery, or Synod," to dis- 
approve and earnestly condemn the position, which 
has been thus assumed by the Presbytery of Lex- 
ington, South, as one which is opposed to the 
established convictions of the Presbyterian Church, 
and must operate to mar its peace and seriously 
hinder its prosperity, as well as bring reproach on 
our holy religion ; and we do hereby call on that 
Presbytery to review and rectify their position. 
Such doctrines and practice cannot be perma- 
nently tolerated in the Presbyterian Church. ^Nlay 
they speedily melt away under the illuminating 
and mello\Ving influence of the Gospel and grace 
of God our Saviour. 

We do not, indeed, pronounce a sentence of in- 
discriminate condemnation upon all our brethren 
who are unfortunately connected with the system 
of slavery. We tenderly sympathize with all those 
who deplore the evil, and are honestly doing all in 
their power for the present well being of their 
slaves, and for their complete emancipation. We 
would aid and not embarrass such brethren. And 
yet, in the language of the General Assembly of 
1818, we would "earnestly warn them against 



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unduly extending the plea of necessity ; against 
making it a cover for the love and practice of 
slavery, or a pretence for not using efforts that 
are lawful and practicable to extinguish this evil." 
In conclusion, the Assembly call the attention of 
the Publication Committee to this subject, and 
recommend the publication, in a convenient form, 
of the testimony of the Presbyterian Church touch- 
ing this subject, at the earliest practicable 
period. 



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